I Did A Deep Dive Into All The Returning Characters From The Hunger Games Movies To Look Out For In Sunrise On The Reaping
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you know Sunrise on the Reaping is quickly becoming one of the most exciting upcoming book adaptations thanks to all the casting reveals across the past month. The movie isn't coming out until 2026, but as we anticipate Haymitch's Hunger Games during the Second Quarter Quell, I figured it might be helpful for the fans to see all the major connections to the original Hunger Games movies to look forward to, since this movie takes place just twenty-four years before Katniss's games.
Let's get into it, but some (definitely not all) SPOILERS are ahead. So, if you want to go into the book or movie completely blind, bookmark this for later.
Haymitch is the central character of this prequel as the movie follows him at the age of 16, when he is reaped for the Second Quarter Quell from District 12. Early in the Sunrise on the Reaping book, we learn a young Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada has been cast, and looks a lot like Woody Harrelson) has a girlfriend named Lenore Dove, who will be played by Whitney Peak.
Lenore Dove hasn't been seen in other Hunger Games movies, but she's got a few connections to some familiar characters. Her cousin is Burdock Everdeen, who is Katniss's dad and is speculated to be a second cousin to Lucy Gray Baird from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the female District 12 victor Snow mentored, played by Rachel Zegler. Covey member Tam Amber was also in Ballad and is Lenore's adoptive uncle as well.
After Ballad told the story of Coriolanus Snow at eighteen, Sunrise will feature him once again, this time at the age of 58 and played by Harry Potter's Voldemort actor, Ralph Fiennes. He will be the President at this point, and Haymitch brushes shoulders with him on quite a few occasions after he becomes a tribute.
When they meet in the book, Snow's past with District 12 and the Covey is hinted at in a way that allows the audience to connect the teen and older versions of the character. There are many more details regarding Snow and Snow's relationship that are delved into, but we'll leave it here to avoid the big spoilers of the story.
When we first meet Haymitch in the original Hunger Games movies, he is accompanied by Effie Trinket, who is District 12's escort and advisor from the Capitol. Elle Fanning has been perfectly cast as a younger version after the book features her origins in the game.
Effie's sister, Proserpina, is part of the District 12 prep team during Haymitch's games, and she helps out after the original stylist didn't show up when she needed her. I can't wait to see Effie and Haymitch interact for the first time after Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks played the characters so well.
Following Stanley Tucci's iconic performances as Hunger Games host, Caesar Flickerman, Kieran Culkin has been cast as a younger Caesar. From previous books, we know that Caesar has been the host for around forty years when Katniss met with him, so Sunrise will see him about midway through his career at a time when he has to interview twice the number of tributes. More than anything, Caesar is usually used for comedic effect, so we're curious how Culkin will approach the role.
Philip Seymour Hoffman famously played the role of Plutarch Heavensbee starting in Catching Fire, when he became the Head Gamemaker of the 75th Hunger Games and secretly was a commander of District 13's rebels in the Second Rebellion. As we learn in Sunrise, Plutarch was a cameraman for the Capitol during Haymitch's games, and yes, secretly a rebel. Jesse Plemons is set to play Plutarch this time around, who interacts a lot with Haymitch throughout the storyline.
You may remember Jeffrey Wright in Catching Fire as Beetee Latier during the 75th Hunger Games when he is reaped again. The character is coming back for Sunrise with Kelvin Harrison Jr. taking on the role, and oof, this is a rough one. After Beetee, who hails from District 3, is the winner of the 34th Hunger Games, he also serves as the mentor to Wiress, who ends up being the victor of the 49th Hunger Games.
But, in the Second Quarter Quell, his involvement is because his son Ampert is reaped, and he's assigned to mentor him as punishment for an attempt he made to sabotage the Capitol's communication systems. Imagine having to watch your own son die in the Hunger Games? I'm not ready.
Speaking of Wiress, she is set to be played by Stranger Things' Maya Hawke after Amanda Plummer played her in Catching Fire. Wiress is fresh off of winning the 49th Hunger Games when she is chosen to mentor the District 12 tributes, including Haymitch, of course. Their other mentor is Mags (set to be played by Lili Taylor in Sunrise after Lynn Cohen), the victor of the 11th Hunger Games, who is later reaped during Catching Fire's 75th Hunger Games.
Along with both of Katniss Everdeen's parents being mentioned as residents of District 12 in the book during Haymitch's games, in the epilogue of Sunrise, the Haymitch we know from the original movies is visited by Katniss and Peeta after the events of Mockingjay to give him goose eggs. I have to wonder if Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson will briefly reunite to complete Haymitch's story at the end of Sunrise.
Now you're pretty much ready for all the returning characters from the Hunger Games when Sunrise on the Reaping comes out. It's coming to theaters on November 20, 2026.
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